Hockey gods reverse fortune on Coyotes

Well fellas,
Since this year started I'd been thinking about how Winnipeg getting their team back would help the Coyotes. So many times in years gone bye, it seemed that the hockey gods were cruel and levied severe punishment on the franchise that was stripped from the Peg out of spite, we'll show you they said and wreaked havoc on the Coyotes franchise. C'mon, we had Moyes as an owner, team went into BK and we still don't have an owner...but something changed when Winnipeg got their team back.

The hockey gods can now smile on the Coyotes

Which brings us to this year, we were picked to be dead last by the pundits. Our team was Bryz and he left for Philly, how could we compete. How can a team with so many injuries piled on top of the adversity of no ownership (3 yrs running), brutal mid season schedule the boys (Aucoin, Tippett, GMDM) called the worst in their hockey careers only to not only make the playoffs, but to win the Division.

We're getting contributions from players that were put on waivers or weren't in the NHL last season including Mike Smith (waivers), Gilbert Brule, Kyle Chipchura and Pouliot...c'mon, is this for real, am I dreaming or are the hockey gods finally giving something back for all the crap we've had to endure.

The "hockey gods" didn't give us ****, we as fans earned this over the years and the players on the ice earned this through hard work.

Didn't mean it like that, I meant it that it didn't matter how hard we worked that something was going to prevent us from having success.

It doesn't take anything away from how hard Smith has worked with Burke and how hard GMDM and Tipp have done in building a great team and developing them into a Division Winner. It just means that maybe fortune is on our side this time.

To a large degree I consider this hockey's version of Moneyball. This is a group of guys that shouldn't be in the position they are by all accounts. However, management and the coach have built a team and an atmosphere where castoffs have been able to come in and make significant contributions to help the team win. It's not as bad as the year before when the team didn't even have a 20 goal scorer on the team, but it pails in comparison to many playoff teams and certainly all of them left in it.

The players deserve the credit for beating the adversity as well, it's just an all around win-win situation.

We've endured a lot as fans of this team. Other teams have had big name acquisitions flop, top draft picks bust, star players hold out, but the Coyotes seem to do it with greater frequency and sheer splendor. Other teams have had ownership struggles, but none has had one so long and depressing. Other teams and their fans have been criticized for being in new, non-traditional markets, but the Coyotes always seem to garner the most derision. Other teams have had runs of impotence, but no other team in this league has gone so long without winning a playoff series.

But that's all the past, and this is isn't about the past anymore. With Doan's hat trick, the division win, and now a series victory, a crucial part of this team's identity has been jettisoned. Ours is no longer a Loser.

It's validation for a lot of these players.

Guys like Brule, Chipchura and Klesla came into this league with very high expectations, and they're only just now seeing what the playoffs are. They're making it count.

Mike Smith has, for the bulk of his career, either been a backup goalie or told he would always be one. He's only just now feeling the pride of not only a starter but one of the best in the league.

Ray Whitney was told by most of the league that he was too old to be worth a two-year deal. He signed with the Coyotes by default, and he's been proving everyone else wrong since.

Then there's the guys who have been here for a while. Yandle, Hanzal, Vrbata, Pyatt, etc. The last two playoff runs must have left differently bad tastes in their mouths. Two first round exits in a row is a coincidence. Three is a trend.

Most of all, it's validation for Shane Doan, who has poured way more into this franchise than he's gotten back. His loyalty, dedication and integrity has paid off.

It's validation for us as fans, too. We've endured as much or more than any other fan base in the league, and we have less to show for it than anyone else. But now, finally, we can shed that coat of futility and embrace this team for what it now is: a Winner.

No matter what happens the rest of the way, this is a good feeling, and nothing--not a second round sweep, not hectoring from other fans, maybe not even r*l*c*t**n--can sully that.

We've endured a lot as fans of this team. Other teams have had big name acquisitions flop, top draft picks bust, star players hold out, but the Coyotes seem to do it with greater frequency and sheer splendor. Other teams have had ownership struggles, but none has had one so long and depressing. Other teams and their fans have been criticized for being in new, non-traditional markets, but the Coyotes always seem to garner the most derision. Other teams have had runs of impotence, but no other team in this league has gone so long without winning a playoff series.

But that's all the past, and this is isn't about the past anymore. With Doan's hat trick, the division win, and now a series victory, a crucial part of this team's identity has been jettisoned. Ours is no longer a Loser.

It's validation for a lot of these players.

Guys like Brule, Chipchura and Klesla came into this league with very high expectations, and they're only just now seeing what the playoffs are. They're making it count.

Mike Smith has, for the bulk of his career, either been a backup goalie or told he would always be one. He's only just now feeling the pride of not only a starter but one of the best in the league.

Ray Whitney was told by most of the league that he was too old to be worth a two-year deal. He signed with the Coyotes by default, and he's been proving everyone else wrong since.

Then there's the guys who have been here for a while. Yandle, Hanzal, Vrbata, Pyatt, etc. The last two playoff runs must have left differently bad tastes in their mouths. Two first round exits in a row is a coincidence. Three is a trend.

Most of all, it's validation for Shane Doan, who has poured way more into this franchise than he's gotten back. His loyalty, dedication and integrity has paid off.

It's validation for us as fans, too. We've endured as much or more than any other fan base in the league, and we have less to show for it than anyone else. But now, finally, we can shed that coat of futility and embrace this team for what it now is: a Winner.

No matter what happens the rest of the way, this is a good feeling, and nothing--not a second round sweep, not hectoring from other fans, maybe not even r*l*c*t**n--can sully that.

We've endured a lot as fans of this team. Other teams have had big name acquisitions flop, top draft picks bust, star players hold out, but the Coyotes seem to do it with greater frequency and sheer splendor. Other teams have had ownership struggles, but none has had one so long and depressing. Other teams and their fans have been criticized for being in new, non-traditional markets, but the Coyotes always seem to garner the most derision. Other teams have had runs of impotence, but no other team in this league has gone so long without winning a playoff series.

But that's all the past, and this is isn't about the past anymore. With Doan's hat trick, the division win, and now a series victory, a crucial part of this team's identity has been jettisoned. Ours is no longer a Loser.

It's validation for a lot of these players.

Guys like Brule, Chipchura and Klesla came into this league with very high expectations, and they're only just now seeing what the playoffs are. They're making it count.

Mike Smith has, for the bulk of his career, either been a backup goalie or told he would always be one. He's only just now feeling the pride of not only a starter but one of the best in the league.

Ray Whitney was told by most of the league that he was too old to be worth a two-year deal. He signed with the Coyotes by default, and he's been proving everyone else wrong since.

Then there's the guys who have been here for a while. Yandle, Hanzal, Vrbata, Pyatt, etc. The last two playoff runs must have left differently bad tastes in their mouths. Two first round exits in a row is a coincidence. Three is a trend.

Most of all, it's validation for Shane Doan, who has poured way more into this franchise than he's gotten back. His loyalty, dedication and integrity has paid off.

It's validation for us as fans, too. We've endured as much or more than any other fan base in the league, and we have less to show for it than anyone else. But now, finally, we can shed that coat of futility and embrace this team for what it now is: a Winner.

No matter what happens the rest of the way, this is a good feeling, and nothing--not a second round sweep, not hectoring from other fans, maybe not even r*l*c*t**n--can sully that.

We've endured a lot as fans of this team. Other teams have had big name acquisitions flop, top draft picks bust, star players hold out, but the Coyotes seem to do it with greater frequency and sheer splendor. Other teams have had ownership struggles, but none has had one so long and depressing. Other teams and their fans have been criticized for being in new, non-traditional markets, but the Coyotes always seem to garner the most derision. Other teams have had runs of impotence, but no other team in this league has gone so long without winning a playoff series.

But that's all the past, and this is isn't about the past anymore. With Doan's hat trick, the division win, and now a series victory, a crucial part of this team's identity has been jettisoned. Ours is no longer a Loser.

It's validation for a lot of these players.

Guys like Brule, Chipchura and Klesla came into this league with very high expectations, and they're only just now seeing what the playoffs are. They're making it count.

Mike Smith has, for the bulk of his career, either been a backup goalie or told he would always be one. He's only just now feeling the pride of not only a starter but one of the best in the league.

Ray Whitney was told by most of the league that he was too old to be worth a two-year deal. He signed with the Coyotes by default, and he's been proving everyone else wrong since.

Then there's the guys who have been here for a while. Yandle, Hanzal, Vrbata, Pyatt, etc. The last two playoff runs must have left differently bad tastes in their mouths. Two first round exits in a row is a coincidence. Three is a trend.

Most of all, it's validation for Shane Doan, who has poured way more into this franchise than he's gotten back. His loyalty, dedication and integrity has paid off.

It's validation for us as fans, too. We've endured as much or more than any other fan base in the league, and we have less to show for it than anyone else. But now, finally, we can shed that coat of futility and embrace this team for what it now is: a Winner.

No matter what happens the rest of the way, this is a good feeling, and nothing--not a second round sweep, not hectoring from other fans, maybe not even r*l*c*t**n--can sully that.

I know why the fortunes were reversed. I was walking around in my backyard and found a wooden peg sticking out of the ground. The supressed 6 year old in me came out in full force and I aimed at the peg in the ground. The fortunes reversed because I pissed on the peg.

Legal disclaimer: any resemblence or likeness to any people or places, living or dead, is purely coincidental.